1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to power consumption control methods, electronic apparatuses, management apparatuses, and recording media. More particularly, the present invention relates to a power consumption control method, in which the power consumption of electronic apparatuses connected to a network is collectively controlled, and also relates to an electronic apparatus, a management apparatus, and a recording medium. Here, the electronic apparatus or the management apparatus is to be communicably xe2x80x9cconnectedxe2x80x9d to the network, with an OS (Operating System) operating in a device such as a computer which controls the operation of the electronic apparatus or the management apparatus.
In recent years, as computer systems have been widely used in various fields, the ever-increasing amount of power consumption has become a problem that urgently needs a solution. In a computer system in which a large number of computers are connected to a network, all the computers are not often accessed at once. In this aspect, the power consumption of computers which are not being accessed should be effectively restricted.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional computer system in which a large number of computers are connected to a network, each computer controls the power consumption itself. In such a system, the power-saving control of each computer is performed in accordance with a power-saving program set by each user. When the operation mode of one computer switches from a normal operation mode to a power-saving mode, the user manually switches the operation mode to the power-saving mode, or the operation mode automatically switches to the power-saving mode after no access has been made for a predetermined period of time. In such a system, the frequency of power-saving control varies depending on each user of the computers. This often results in an unnecessarily large amount of power consumption of the entire computer system.
Japanese Patent Application No. 10-31361 discloses a method for performing effective power-saving control. In this method, the server transmits a control signal to a client in accordance with a predetermined schedule set in the server, and if certain conditions are satisfied, the client switches to the power-saving mode. However, since all the clients connected to a network perform the power-saving control independently of each other, the frequency of power-saving control varies depending on the user. This causes the problem of inefficient power consumption in the computer system.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a power consumption control method, an electronic apparatus, a management apparatus, and a recording medium, in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a power consumption control method, an electronic apparatus, a management apparatus, and a recording medium, in which the power consumption of the clients connected to a network can be effectively controlled.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by a method in which power-saving control is performed for an electronic apparatus in accordance with a power-saving control program set in a management apparatus when the electronic apparatus is connected to a network, and the power-saving control is performed for the electronic apparatus in accordance with a power-saving control program set in the electronic apparatus when the electronic apparatus is disconnected from the network.
According to the present invention, it is also possible to determine whether the power-saving control is to be performed by the management apparatus or the electronic apparatus when the electronic apparatus is connected to the network. The management apparatus of the present invention inquires of the electronic apparatus whether the power-saving control for the electronic apparatus should be performed or not, and in accordance with a response from the electronic apparatus to the inquiry, the management apparatus performs the power-saving control for the electronic apparatus.
In the method of the present invention, the usage status of a common apparatus shared by a plurality of electronic apparatuses connected via the network is detected, and the operation of the common apparatus is controlled in accordance with the detected usage status of the common apparatus.
According to the present invention, the power-control is performed by the management apparatus when the electronic apparatus is connected to the network. In this manner, the power consumption of the electronic apparatuses connected to the network can be collectively controlled by the management apparatus, thereby realizing an effective power-saving control operation.
In the present invention, it is also possible to determine whether the power-saving control should be performed by the management apparatus or the electronic apparatus in accordance with information set in the electronic apparatus. Thus, power-saving control suitable for various conditions can be performed. Furthermore, since the operation of the common apparatus is controlled in accordance with the usage status of the common apparatus, the management apparatus can perform effective power-saving control in accordance with the usage status of the common apparatus.